DRAFT Welcome To New England TE Eli Raridon

[Gator Mike]

 

[manxman2601]

 

[SlowGettingUp]

Gronk size hands

Add 15 pounds and the entire RAS would be pretty much identical with Gronk's. Not saying this is Gronk 2, but pretty damn good measurables here. And apparently he's a decent blocker.

 

[manxman2601]

Maybe, but those 11' hands and arms are very nice.

 

[manxman2601]

I'll just say this on Raridon's blocking. He was blocking for two first round RBs. Just saying.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

 

[manxman2601]

Did a search for player comparisons for Raridon. Two different sites gave him Kyle Rudolph-lite comps.

 

[Username]

Raridon was my favourite TE in this class, so I'm pretty happy with this pick

 

[Gumby]

Not saying Raridon is the next Gronk, but using him as a comparison is kind of interesting.

I don’t get how Eli is RED for weight with 5 points less in RAS and Gronk is Green.

Eli is a WHOLE 1/2“ shorter and yeah 13 lbs lighter, but still 245 at 6‘5“ ( almost 6‘6“) is not a thin twig ( like the wr who shall go unnamed). If RAS is done on a percentile basis by position population, I guess it can be just stupid math based on a lot of fatties playing his position. But it just seems way off of a rating, especially if he is so good at blocking as reported….the weight is NOT making a difference.

 

[Gumby]

I'll just say this on Raridon's blocking. He was blocking for two first round RBs. Just saying.

Blocking against top-level competition DLs, not just vs Foxboro State, …just saying.

[edit: @manxman2601 on first read I thought you were dissing him. Re-reading I’m not sure anymore. Depends if you are taking chicken or egg side of argument. Were they 1rounder due to his blocking or the first rounders in spite of/supplemental to his blocking. Clarify if you feel like for my curiosity. Thx ]

 

[Delicate Genius]

Can we change his first name, though?

 

[Clonamery]

Blocking against top-level competition DLs, not just vs Foxboro State, …just saying.

[edit: @manxman2601 on first read I thought you were dissing him. Re-reading I’m not sure anymore. Depends if you are taking chicken or egg side of argument. Were they 1rounder due to his blocking or the first rounders in spite of/supplemental to his blocking. Clarify if you feel like for my curiosity. Thx ]

Not a dis.

 

[Water Boy]

I was locked in on wanting Delp. Didn't consider Reardon at all.

 

[DarrylS]

"Eli's coming" I really like this pick... from what I read this AM most pundits agree.

 

[PatsFan2]

Raridon gets vertical a lot he's going to be nice. I wanted both him and Malachi Fields for us would have been a lot of height for Drake Maye.

 

[PatsFan2]

I will say... if there is one position i pride myself on having an eye for it is TEs. It is my best position. I pounded the table for Fannin last year when no one cared. I called him a first round talent when all the buzz was about Warren and Colston. And this was EARLY in the process. Fannin looked just as good as either last year but was in a much worse situation. He should have gone in round 1. I stand by that.

Raridon was this years Fannin for me. The dude just clearly has it. It jumps off the screen. IDC about ACL injuries he had years ago. He was young and a young body heals very well. He plays with no brace or restriction or hesitation. I had him as a top 48 pick. I stand by that. We got a steal. He WILL be a good TE in this league. Frankly by year 2 I see him out performing an aging Henry. In year 1 it would not surprise me if he comes on very strong. He will demand snaps more than Hooper did. Frankly he will enter week 1 already better than Hooper. All due respect to the man.

He is not a 1K TE in this league, maybe once or twice. But once he hits his stride i see him having Hunter Henry level production for 10 years.

He is a 800 yards a year TE IMO... that is nothing to sneeze at.

I remember when we passed on Tucker Kraft because BB saw something in Mapu. One of the worst Draft Blunders ever but we know how BB loves to out do himself. Eli Raridon exorcise the demons of BB and Mapu.

 

[rkarp1]

I really like this pick if the medical team is happy with the knee
great height
great hand size/catch radius
great speed and explosiveness
would he lose much if he gained 10-15 lbs?
needs to get stronger. has a really good mentor in Henry and a great OC for a TE with McD.

 

[everlong]

If you want to know who the Patriots are drafting day three go get everyone's RAS score. Lomu 19th of over 1600 tackles since 87, Jacas 93rd out of 2200+ edge rushers and Raridon 27th out of 1300+ TEs. Last year's class had a similar theme. Campbell and Lomu are almost identical.

RASMethodology

Creation of the Datasets and source of truth Any comparative metric is only as good as the datset it is pulling from. RAS is no different, but in developing this metric I had to ensure that there w…

ras.football

I went back and watched Raridon and he's way more athletic than I thought and he can definitely block.

 

[Uptown]

I loved Delp’s potential, but we may have gotten the most complete TE in the draft in Raridon. Definitely in my top 3 favorite (Stowers, Delp & Raridon) with Klare being underrated due to playing with Smith & Tate @ OSU. Fell asleep & woke up delighted. Love the pick.

 

[scott99]

Not saying Raridon is the next Gronk, but using him as a comparison is kind of interesting.

Crazy thing about Gronk, was he looked faster than 4.68, and was a beast on those seam passes. Also, he played with such strength, rarely did you see him go down from an arm tackle, he would bust right through those.

If Raridon can add 10 pounds of muscle, it’ll help him in the physical part of being an all around TE.

Not all picks work out, but the potential and talent Raridon has makes him such a fantastic pick. The Pats have needed a future pass catching TE since Gronk retired in 2019. And the Pats basically ignored A TON of good TE classes since then.